Interconnecting European regions: University of Ostrava is part of a European University Alliance

NEOLAiA European University Alliance, University of Ostrava is part of, has received funding for its development in the European University Initiative Call. In a fierce competition of 39 emerging consortia, NEOLAiA is one of the seven alliances that have won a grant.

Last autumn the European Commission launched a new Erasmus+ Call to support the European University Initiative. With a record budget of €402.2 million, existing and new European University Alliances will receive funding to strengthen and broaden cooperation between European higher education institutions. Most of the applications selected belong to already existing alliances supported in the 2020 call and applying now for follow-up funding. In addition, new alliances were awarded grants in this year's call and competition within this group was really high.

This week, July 3, the European Commission announced the results of this call. In a fierce competition of 39 emerging consortia, NEOLAiA alliance was one of the seven alliances selected for funding.

The competition in this prestigious Erasmus+ activity does not consist only in the number of project applications submitted but also in their high quality. NEOLAiA alliance was highly rated in the 2022 call, receiving a certificate of quality, but 84 points out of 100 was not enough for funding. In the 2023 call, the NEOLAiA project was awarded 90 points.

Winning the grant in the European University Initiative means financial support for the alliance for the next four years to enhance cooperation and implement a wide portfolio of collaborative activities in teaching and learning, research, for fostering entrepreneurial and intercultural competences in students, and promoting diversity and inclusion. It will help open new opportunities for study abroad stays and internships, and for sharing practices among staff in departments and offices across NEOLAiA universities. "Building an alliance of European universities cannot be compared to any other strategic cooperation project in its scope: it is not limited to a specific topic or area, it is not focused on defined outcomes only, it is exploring how things work in universities across Europe, seeking synergies in all University activities, and reinforcing shared values," explains Renáta Tomášková.

The results of the 2023 Call are not only a great success for the University of Ostrava, they have also strengthened the position of the Czech Republic, and particularly Ostrava and the Moravian-Silesian Region, in the European Higher Education Area. While until now only four Czech universities (Charles University, Masaryk University, Palacký University in Olomouc, and the Czech Technical University in Prague) have been part of European University Alliances, now five more have joined, and three of them from our region (University of Ostrava, VSB-Technical University Ostrava, and Silesian University in Opava).

Updated: 10. 07. 2023